Her confidence soared as she fastened the holster around her waist.
The next time the alarms went off, she was halfway up an access ladder. The sudden noise made her miss the next rung, and she floundered for a few seconds, grateful no one was around to witness her undignified recovery.
This alarm was a call to general quarters. She grinned in anticipation. She could taste her freedom, and it was sweeter than she’d ever imagined. All she had to do now was to find a way to convince whoever was coming to take her with them when they left. Maybe if she could figure out what they were after, she could help them find it.
Chapter Four
They took an access ladder from level to level, moving as fast as they could without taking any undue risks. The last thing Eric wanted was to get shot in the back because he’d gotten careless. Actually, that was the second to last thing. At the top of the list of things to avoid was getting his teammate shot. Not only would Cris take it personally, so would their CO, not to mention Cris’ sister and her three very large, overprotective cyborg husbands.
You really think she’s here?” Cris asked during a brief pause to check the hallway on this level. It was clear.
“Yes.” Every scrap of evidence he’d uncovered pointed to this place, but it was more than just data. He was sure she was here, a gut feeling that had only gotten stronger.
Cris nodded. “Then let’s find her and go home.”
There was a soft sound behind them, a whisper of fabric, nothing more, and a soft, female voice spoke in unaccented Galactic Standard. “Maybe I can help with that.”
He spun around at the same time Cris did, to find himself face to face with a memory.
“Echo?”
The woman shook her head. She was armed, with a stun-baton in her hand and a blaster holstered at her hip. Her face was identical to Echo’s, but she was leaner, with wary gray eyes and blonde hair cropped close to her skull. “I’m not an echo. I’m the original.”
Eric slammed a lid on his emotions and tried to think logically. It wasn’t easy. He’d come here looking for Echo’s sister, but this… “Are you Nyx?”
Her head snapped up. “You know my name?”
He lowered his weapon and reached out to her. “You’re the reason I’m here. Echo told me to find you.”
Pain and shock flashed in her eyes, along with recognition. “It’s you. You’re the one who made her laugh.”
“How do you know that?”
She took half a step forward, the hand holding the baton falling back to her side. “She sent you? How? She’s dead.”
How had she recognized him? Had Echo reported to her? That didn’t make sense. He had so many questions, but now wasn’t the time. He answered her questions instead. “She told me about you in a message she prepared before she died. She couldn’t save herself, but she managed to pass on vital information to us.”
“I didn’t know that. I thought…” She sagged a little, then stiffened her spine and stood ramrod straight. “What’s your name?”
“Eric. I’m Ensign Eric Erben, of Nova Force.”
“And he’s here to rescue you,” Cris added, not bothering to hide his amusement.
Eric ignored the sudden impulse to shoot his teammate. Just in the foot, mind you, nothing life-threatening.
“You came all this way because one of my clones asked you to find me?”
“I came for you. My team is here because we’ve been tasked with taking down the Gray Men. All their projects and black sites. Everything.” Eric gestured around them. “This is the home of the Fury Project, right?”
She gave him a wry smile. “Sort of.”
Cris cursed. “Why sort of? What are we missing?”
She pursed her lips in thought for a long moment before answering. “I’ll tell you everything I know about all this, but not until we’re far away from here. When they realize they left me behind, they’re going to come for me.” Her hand drifted to the blaster at her hip. “I won’t let that happen.”
Eric let go of his weapon and stepped forward, his hand outstretched. “Tell us what you know, and I’ll make sure you’re protected. You have my word.”
“Magi, you can’t make…” Cris protested, but Eric cut him off with a slash of his hand.
“If I have to, I’ll do it myself.” He reached out to Nyx again. “Do we have a deal?”
She glanced at his hand, and her teeth sank into her lower lip as she considered his offer. Then, she nodded once, crossed the distance between them, and grasped his hand. “We have a deal. Echo trusted you, so I will, too.”
Her touch felt so familiar he had to resist the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her until the stormy look left her eyes and she was laughing again. But this wasn’t Echo. This was Nyx, and she wasn’t what he’d been expecting. “How long have you been a prisoner?”
She seemed surprised by the question. “I’m not sure exactly. Years.”
He squeezed her hand, only then realizing he hadn’t released his grip. “Then it’s more than time you left this place. Isn’t it?”
She smiled at him, a real smile that transformed her hard features into something breathtakingly beautiful. “Yes, I think it is.”
Cris appeared beside him before either of them could move. “Before we go, I need to scan her.”
“For what?” Eric demanded, though he managed to keep his tone respectful…mostly.
Cris gave him a level look. “Chips. Explosives. The usual.”
“Right.”
“I’m going to scan you, now, Nyx. It will only take a second and you won’t feel a thing,” Cris said, holding out the palm-sized device.
“Explosives?” She asked. “If those bastards put explosives in me I’ll—” she grimaced. “Damn. I can only kill them once, can’t I?”
“Afraid so.” Cris barely managed to conceal a smile as he quickly ran the scanner over Nyx. “Good news, you only need to kill them the one time. No chips, no explosives.”
Eric breathed a soft sigh of relief, turned, and walked back toward the ladder, still holding Nyx’s hand. Somewhere behind him, Cris chuckled. “Blink is going to be sorry she missed this. I’ll tell the others we found her, and we’re heading back to the ship.”
Eric turned to look back at the lieutenant. “Thank you.” He knew he’d pushed his luck with Cris. The man outranked him, and if he forgot himself the same way with Dax, his commander would kick his ass and then bounce him out the nearest airlock. He couldn’t let his desire to protect Nyx override his brain again. She wasn’t Echo, and he didn’t owe her anything. Once she was safe, they could both go their separate ways.
The man whose smile had been one of her favorite memories had a name – Eric. And he’d come looking for her simply because one of her clones, a woman who had lied to him, had asked him to. She didn’t know what to do with that information. Apart from the researchers who worked with Absalom and her clones, no one in the galaxy knew she even existed. This man had spoken to her and seen her in a way she hadn’t experienced before. It was a strange feeling. She glanced at their still-joined hands. This was turning out to be a very strange day all around.